Lou Bean, My baby is growing up. This past year has been both amazing and hard. You’ve faced some fears, and dealt with some challenges, but through it all you’ve been a strong, brave girl. Your 10th year brought fun things like your first sleepaway camp, theater classes, starting dance again, a beach trip, train… [Read More]
A letter to my son as he becomes a teen
You are 13 today. I honestly can’t believe it. Wasn’t it just yesterday that you were running around, Buzz Lightyear in hand, yelling “To Infinity and Beyond”? As much as I miss the toddler and preschool days, I am so enjoying getting to know the young man you are. You’re funny, smart, insightful and really… [Read More]
A letter to my daughter on her 10th birthday
My darling Emmy Lou, A decade has gone by since you were born. At times it seems like forever ago and others it seems as if I blinked and you’re a young woman. You are silly and delightful and stubborn as all get out. There is absolutely zero chance of anyone else getting the last… [Read More]
Going grey – I’m 43 and I stopped coloring my hair
I found my first grey hair at 16. By my mid-twenties, I started coloring my hair every 6-8 weeks. Thus began a cycle that continued every two months for almost 15 years. I knew I was over 50% grey. I figured it was probably a lot more than that. But I distinctly remember the day I… [Read More]
A letter to my son on his 12th birthday
This was a big year – 2020 pandemic/Covid aside. There were many, many changes. You finished elementary school. Your voice changed. You’re now taller than both your grandmothers AND your mother. (Rude.) You started middle school. I stare at you sometimes, searching for the hints of my baby boy. He’s still there. I see him… [Read More]
Week 13: What does time even mean anymore?
I haven’t written anything in a few weeks. I mean, what’s there to say? It’s all one gigantic groundhog day with some world-ending kind of bullshit popping up now and again. Let’s see, what’s happened in the last month…. North Carolina re-opened to Phase 2 and our Covid cases are now spiking. People are losing… [Read More]
Quarantine Week 9: I’m going a little crazy
Nine weeks. Nine weeks at home. I filled up my gas tank last Friday for the first time since quarantine began. Weird. I’ve been IN an actual grocery store five times in the last two months. Again, weird. My son has left our neighborhood four times, my daughter five in nine weeks — for driveway/patio visit with… [Read More]
Quarantine Diary: Week 7
Oh hi, it’s me. It’s Tuesday morning and I’m still wearing my robe, even though I sat down to start my work day an hour ago. Yesterday, on a family walk, I threatened to push my 9 year old into a tree if she didn’t change her tone. I screamed “I’m on a call” one… [Read More]
Quarantine Diary: It’s been a month
I can’t believe we’re going into week 5 of this. In some ways it’s become a bit easier as we’ve created some sort of a routine. We know what to expect. But in other ways, it’s harder. I miss hugging people – my mom, my sister, my friends. I wonder how long this will go… [Read More]
What my child is reading, Vol. 5: book recommendations for tweens during quarantine
I’m back with a few new book recommendations for tweens. Needless to say, my 11 year old has been reading a lot over these past few week. He’s a big reader anyway, but given he has way more free time right now, he’s on a much faster track than normal. Generally speaking, he’s a big… [Read More]
